The Orpheus
Sylvia scowled at the strange creature before her as the creature scowled back. A steady frown was held on each of its many wrinkled faces, its multiple heads floating in the air above its massive, shapeless body. Some of the heads were blurry, others were defined but varying degrees of transparent, others still were an assortment of colors that rivaled a rainbow. But despite the odd and awe-inspiring sight, Sylvia was not impressed. She glared at the head dead center of the form, the only one solid and tangible.
"How dare you trespass in the Nexus of Realities!" It hissed with its many mouths, its voices chorusing with various pitches and tones. "This place is forbidden to mortals. So says the Gate Keeper!"
"Look, you sorry excuse for a neck-less hydra," Sylvia answered, unflinching, "We only stopped on this asteroid to rest up a minute, and there were no signs saying 'Interdimensional Flux Zone- No Trespassing.' So it's not our fault we're here against your permission."
The Gate Keeper looked briefly flummoxed, as if he truly believed the desolate, jagged peaked and cavern riddled appearance of the asteroid alone would keep potential, unwanted visitors away.
"Regardless," He continued, regaining his serious façade. "Your friend trespassed through a very sensitive cosmic barrier that skirts the edges between realities and people just waltzing through the veil willy-nilly can throw off the interdimensional equilibrium!"
"Well sorry, but 'waltzing through' is something Wander does. So if you don't want him messing around with your cosmic mojo, find him for me and we'll be on our way."
This was all she wanted. Within ten minutes of landing on the asteroid so she could rest her legs, Wander had ventured off as he tended to do and when she went into the caverns to find him it became evident that he had simply vanished amongst the strange glowing rocks and rippling energy fields contained within. And instead of her friend, she had found this multi-headed monstrosity with poor security against intruders now yelling at her.
"It isn't that easy." The Gate Keeper explained. "Your friend didn't just pass into another dimension; he is stuck in the Space Between and therefore could be anywhere in space and time. And I simply cannot be bothered wasting my time searching for some lowly 3-dimensional orange dust bunny when the Infinite Realms need to be guarded from real threats."
Sylvia snorted irritably, "Oh yeah, you did a real good job guarding there when the 'dust bunny' got passed you." The Gate Keeper growled, but she showed no intimidation as she marched up to the larger being and made very evident her tightened fists. "Now find him or else I'll mess up your face so bad your other heads won't know what dimension your teeth are in!"
All the heads were focused on her now and all showed a full range of fear from dread to panic.
"Okay! Hold on, let's not be hasty." He relented, "I can find him, just give me a moment. The veil is a very large place." At this, his heads dispersed, leaving his lump of a body behind.
Sylvia snarled inwardly. She had had more than her fill of creatures that believed that just because they were more "highly evolved" than other species, they had license to mess around with "lower life-forms." Her anger dissolved the very second one of the heads returned, carrying Wander by the scruff of his neck with its mouth.
The nomad looked confused but once he was deposited on the ground he smiled and gave the head a cheery wave as it regrouped with its others. He was semi-transparent; a pale, ghostly image before her. He gasped at the Gate Keeper and began chattering full-throttle, but his words were faint and garbled as if he were talking backwards, far away and underwater.
"Wander?" She called to him. He paused his jabbering and looked around as if he couldn't tell where her voice had come from. When he saw her his eyes lit up and he ran to her with arms outstretched. He leapt up to hug her but to her shock and his surprise he passed completely through her. He landed face first in the dirt and lifted himself up with a disappointed countenance.
"What gives? You said you'd bring him back." Sylvia complained.
"I said I'd find him." The multi-headed creature excused himself. "Bringing him out of the Space Between is an entirely different proposition."
"Then do it!" she demanded, anger rising again.
"It's a complex initiative. The open spaces between worlds are fragile and finicky. Pulling him out could cause damage to the barriers and I will not have that happening. You're better off saying your good-byes and moving on with your lives."
Sylvia balled her fists again. Perhaps another threat would convince the Gate Keeper to change his mind. But beside her she saw Wander reach into his hat and pull out his banjo. He strummed slowly at first, the music distorted across the Rift that separated them. He began to sing but that too sounded otherworldly. The Gate Keeper however could hear what Wander was playing and singing clearly. As the tempo sped up and Wander appeared to dedicate himself wholly to his performance, the transdimensional creature was engrossed as well. Wander reached a crescendo and ended his song. He caught his breath and took a bow and smiled at his audience.
The Gate Keeper looked close to tears on each and every face. Sylvia may not have been able to understand what Wander had been singing, but whatever it was it had pulled the multiple headed monster's heartstrings.
"That…was beautiful." The Gate Keeper sniffled. Wander dug his toe into the dirt with a bashful smile. "I had no idea your friendship ran so deeply. I may be able to help you after all. Follow me."
Sighing with relief Sylvia followed the main head as it disconnected from the others and floated down deep through the caverns until they reached a long, dark tunnel. She could just make out the light at the end as an eerie mist swirled around, changing color in pulses.
"This pathway is where the veil is thin enough to pass through." The disembodied head explained. "The bond of friendship you two share will act as the anchor that will pull your friend back to the other side. All you need to do is guide him along this tunnel until you cross the threshold at the end."
"Is that all?" Sylvia gaped incredulously. "Alright, lead Wander down the tunnel, done and done." Her grin at her good fortune was pulled right off her face when the Gate Keeper's head began yelling,
"It's not that simple! There are forces at work here that your three-dimensional mind could hardly comprehend! This isn't a stroll through the park. If you make a wrong move your friend could be trapped within the Space Between forever, doomed to languish or worse! As his link to this reality you must focus on the threshold so that he may cross safely. To look away, even for the most fleeting microsecond, would break the connection and he will be pulled back into the Rift where he may never be recovered."
His voice was serious and almost pleading. Her previous lightheartedness was replaced with a well founded dread. While she didn't understand the mumbo-jumbo inter-dimensional science behind it, she certainly took the creature's warning as genuine for the sake and safety of her little friend who was at the moment grabbling at her body, giggling at how he could reach right through her. She locked eyes with him, a prolonged moment where he could see she wanted him to be focused on the task at hand by the solemn look on her face. He nodded once and took his place at her side.
"You must cross the threshold at the same time." The Gate Keeper said. "And remember, do not look back. The weakness in the veil will not last much longer. This may be the only chance you get. Good luck."
Sylvia looked forward and aimed her gaze at the distant exit. Deliberately she started down the tunnel. As they descended several paces along, she became aware of an unsettling silence that sent chills through her. And even with the veil between them, she hadn't heard a single distorted peep from Wander. It was making her nervous and she felt herself picking up her pace slightly. Eyes glued to the cave's exit, still achingly far away, she asked Wander if he was keeping up…or she tried to, only to discover her own words coming out as hardly a whisper. She attempted talking louder, then yelling, only for it to receive the same effect. She realized she could no longer hear her own footfall nor could she hear Wander's beside her. The mysterious dimensional fabric around them was absorbing their sound and sending it who knows where. Without sound or touch, without being able to move her gaze away from the tunnel's mouth, Sylvia had only faith to tell her Wander was still at her side.
He knows better than to wander off now. She told herself. But the worried negative zone in the back of her mind remembered all the other times he had strayed from her even when she had warned him not to. She shook the thoughts from her head; there were no distractions here to lure him away, no innocents in need of help, sure the Technicolor mist was neat and the shimmering walls were fascinating, but he knew how important it was to stay together right now.
She hastened herself again, resisting the temptation to glance behind. Focused on the tunnel's end she repeated to herself that he hadn't wandered off, that he was still there, despite the building worry that she was wrong. Just as it felt she could stand it no longer, the light of day was within reach.
Her snout crossed the threshold first and as her head and neck followed suit she let out a sigh. The world had sound again and there was no more interdimensional weirdness apparent in the atmosphere. Satisfied, she turned to address Wander.
"Glad to be out of there, huh pal?" She inquired. The sight of a vacant spot by her side where he should have been deflated her and stabbed the quickly forgotten worry back into her heart.
He wasn't there. It couldn't be right. She had done everything the Gate Keeper had told her, hadn't she? She then noticed that although she had crossed the cave's threshold, the whole of her body hadn't finished going through. Her back end and tail where still in the shadows of the cave. Was she supposed to cross the whole way first? Had she looked back too soon? Perhaps she had been going too fast and Wander had fallen behind and they hadn't crossed together. He heart pounded at the idea of all the things that could have gone wrong. Things that were her fault. Her legs felt weak as the weight of her horror grew on her shoulders.
Only…the weight wasn't on her shoulders, it was on her back and humming softly. Uncurling her neck she looked to her saddle and the smiling occupant sitting there, staring at the starry sky.
"Wander?" She asked, hesitant to let her guard down just yet.
He stopped his star gazing as if being pulled from a trance.
"Hmm, I'm sorry Sylvia, did ya say something?" He asked. He smiled at her and gave her neck a pat. "I was just thinking about how I woulda missed the sights if I had been stuck in that weird cave. I mean, how crazy was that place?" He leaned forward evidently charged from the memory by the grin on his face. His beam faded slightly as his voice softened to normal volume. "I'm really happy you were able to lead me outta there. I gotta admit, I wouldn't have been able to resist looking back when that floaty-headed guy said not to. I really admire how strong willed you are.
"But I had the notion to get in front, right under your nose, so we could cross together sooner. Just to make things easier, ya know?" He gave her snout a little tickle with his fuzzy finger, a playful and knowing twinkle in his eye.
Under her nose. It made perfect sense. She hadn't needed to look back, not with how he always was thinking of her needs. They shared a nuzzle briefly before he resumed his stargazing. She joined him with a contented sigh. New adventures waiting ahead of them. No need to look back.
The End